Category Archives: Mott Haven

Join Melissa in the Bronx to Rally to Save Child Care & After-School Programs, Tomorrow

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Melissa, along with Council Member Annabel Palma, Campaign for Children, The Children’s Aid Society and Good Shepherd Services will be holding a rally to save child care and after-school services in the Bronx tomorrow, Wednesday, June 12th at 4 PM outside the Bronx courthouse.

Because of the Mayor’s budget cuts, over 47,000 more children will lose child care and after-school programs. Click here to read the Campaign for Children’s full report: “NYC is Going Backwards: What the Mayor’s Budget Cuts to Child Care and After-School Mean for New York’s Children and Families.” This budget cut is simply unacceptable – there is too much at stake.

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WHO: Council Members Melissa Mark-Viverito and  Annabel Palma, Campaign for Children, The Children’s Aid Society and Good Shepherd Services
WHAT: Bronx Rally to Save Child Care and After-School Programs
WHEN: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 4 PM
WHERE: Bronx Courthouse, 861 Grand Concourse

Para ver el volante del evento en español, haga clic aquí.

Let’s Combat Stigma, Homophobia & Transphobia in Our Community

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Melissa, State Senator José Serrano, and the East Harlem Immigrant Service Network are sponsoring an all-inclusive roundtable discussion entitled “Bridging the Gap; Expanding the Dialogue” that will be held on Friday, June 7th from 9 AM to 11:30 AM at the East Harlem Asthma Center of Excellence. This dialogue is intended to broaden conversations about sexuality and gender identity in El Barrio/East Harlem and the South Bronx. This is a chance for you to have an interactive discussion between elected officials and other members of the community about the best ways we can combat stigma, homophobia and transphobia in our community.

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WHO: Sponsored by: Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, State Senator José Serrano, Jr., the East Harlem Immigrant Service Network; along with co-sponsors: Anti-Violence Project, Bailey House, Harlem United, and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
WHAT: Bridging the Gap; Expanding the Dialogue: Combating Stigma, Homophobia, and Transphobia in our Communities
WHEN: Friday, June 7th from 9 AM to 11:30 AM
WHERE: East Harlem Asthma Center of Excellence. 161-169 East 110th Street, 1st floor (between Lexington & Third Avenues)
MANDATORY RSVP: Joe Pressley at (212) 828-9800 or jpressley@council.nyc.gov 

Para ver el volante del evento en español, haga clic aquí.

We Spoke & They Listened! #NoMoreGhettoTours

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The Post has reported that the Real Bronx Tours company is no longer providing the “GHETTO” tours they once boosted, in fact they are not providing any tours in the Bronx — and we have YOU to thank! Between Melissa and  Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.’s letter to the tour company and your shared outrage, sparking more vocal support (like through Change.org), we have influenced change. You can find the Post’s original article detailing the insulting and demeaning tour at this link. Going forward we hope all tour companies conduct tours that highlights the Bronx’s “diverse ethnic groups and neighborhoods, cultural institutions and surprising natural beauty,” as Real Bronx Tours’ website claimed. The fact is that there are many tours you can take around the borough that do just that.

I-Love-The-BronxThe Bronx Tourism Council highlights many great guided tours throughout the borough (ilovethebronx.com/tours). One unique tour is the Bronx Culture Trolley that takes place on the first Wednesday evening of every month - check out the flyer for the schedule of stops on the upcoming tour on Wednesday, June 5th. And don’t forget to check out the Bronx Tourism Council calendar for upcoming events throughout the borough.

If you know of any other fun or informative tours or activities that highlight the South Bronx, please feel free to comment with the website and contact information! Or just let us know what you LOVE about the Bronx. What we love about the South Bronx is you – our constituents! We asked for your help yesterday and you not only helped but spread the word fast. There’s nothing greater than a community that sticks together for a good cause.

A “Ghetto” Tour of the South Bronx?

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Melissa has written a letter with Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. to Real Bronx Tours, a company that reportedly gives tours of the South Bronx that offer “a ride through a real New York City ‘GHETTO.’” The letter urges the company to radically change the way this tour is marketed and presented to the public. You can read the letter by clicking here.

The account of the tour published in the New York Post yesterday is sickening. The tour guide not only painted the South Bronx as a haven for crime, but also mocked local residents who were waiting on line at a food pantry.

Are you as outraged as we are? Send an e-mail to Real Bronx Tours at realbronxtours@gmail.com or sign a Change.org petition that was created by BronxCentric: Bronx Movers and Shakers.

Info4NonCitizens

Immigration Reform: What You Need To Know

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We are happy to share with you a very clear rundown on Immigration Reform, provided by CUNY Citizenship Now:

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Visit CUNY Citizenship Now’s website. It’s a great resource to learn about everything from  protecting yourself from immigration fraud to finding English language classes and preparing for the citizenship test.

You can download the PDF of this flyer to share with your network through this link.

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Teens: How Would You Like to Spend Your Summer at Randall’s Island?

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Get creative this summer at the Bronx Museum’s The People Make the Park Teen Summer Program at Randall’s Island! This is your chance to spend July with teens just like you, interviewing community members, park staff, artists, activists and professionals in order to create audio podcasts that will be placed on exhibit at Randall’s Island Park. Additionally, there will be free lunches on program days and a stipend for your travel and hard work. Think of the people you could meet and uncharted experiences to be had — sounds like a winning college application essay! Check out The People Make the Park 2012′s Tumblr for a better idea of the program.

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Applications are due by Sunday, June 9, 2013 – so apply today. You must be entering the 10th, 11th or 12th grade in the fall of 2013. The program will be held from July 8 – 26, 2013, Mondays through Thursday, 1 PM to 5 PM.

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Calling Bronx Artists: The BCA is Taking Applications for the Bronx Terminal Market Pedestrian Bridge Art Project

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The Bronx Terminal Market is a need of your creativity and artistic abilities. Whether you’re an emerging or seasoned professional artist, the Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA) and Bronx Terminal Market are looking for you –  a Bronx resident with experience working with community members, landscape architects, businesses and government entities. (Although preferred, this vast amount of experience is not mandatory)

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The BCA is planning on installing artwork to be displayed along the Pedestrian Bridge at Bronx Terminal Market in the South Bronx. The bridge is located off River Avenue, near 151st Street, and its entrance is marked by a tall pylon sign post that features the Bronx Terminal Market name and logos from featured stores and restaurants. You can click here to see the images.  The project will be completely installed in Fall 2013. The deadline for the application is April 30, 2013. 

The installation should heighten awareness of the Bronx Terminal Market and create a physical space for Bronx community involvement and exchange – it should be a call for community engagement.

Below is the necessary information and forms:

  1. Information: Artist RFP
  2. Guidelines and Application
  3. Required Image Sheet
  4. Images of Pedestrian Bridge
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Bike Tour Through the South Bronx, This Saturday

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Garbagia-LandIt’s Spring! And that means that it’s time to take advantage of all that Spring weather has to offer. This Saturday, Friends of Brook Park and South Bronx Unite will be giving a leisurely bike tour that will include all the “beautiful natural wonders of the waterfront, community gardens and art, historic places” and cherry blossoms! Beyond the natural beauty and history, the tour will be visiting the site for the proposed truck-heavy Fresh Direct location. This is your chance to see the vast possibilities for this space from which the community would benefit. This is a great chance to learn more about your community or if you’re not from the neighborhood, then to explore it for the first time. We can’t think of a better way to get informed on issues than being active and riding our bikes!

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Photos courtesy of Friends of Brook Park

WHAT: South Bronx Bike Tour
WHEN: Saturday, April 20th, 12 PM noon
WHERE: Brook Park, E. 141st St & Brook Ave (ride returns to the park)

For more information, visit friendsofbrookpark.org and southbronxunite.com

Join Melissa Tonight At Bronx Town Hall Meeting: Community Safety & NYPD Accountability

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We are now a month into Flyod v. City of New York, the federal class action law suit filed against the NYPD that claims they engaged in racial profiling and uncalled for stop and frisks on law-abiding New Yorkers – and the impact that stop and frisk practices have on African-American and Latino communities is more prevalent than ever. Mott Haven’s 40th precinct has one of the highest rates of stop and frisk in the city.

This evening, Melissa will be at a Town Hall meeting in the Bronx that she is co-sponsoring, demanding there be an end to discriminatory NYPD practices and calling for a more effective approach to community safety and the passage of the Community Safety Act. It’s time that the NYPD takes accountability for their actions. The Bronx Defenders and the Vacamas Programs for Youth will be hosting tonight’s meeting.

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WHO: Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, Senator Gustavo Rivera, Council Member Annabel Palma, Bronx Defenders Organization, Vacamas Programs for Youth, Morris Justice Project, SOS South Bronx, Justice Committee, Picture the Homeless, New York Harm Reduction Educators (NYHRE), and VOCAL-NY
WHAT: Bronx Town Hall Meeting
WHEN: Thursday, April 18, at 6:30 PM
WHERE: Vacamas GLOW Classic Center, 286 East 156th Street (at Morris Avenue)

* Food & childcare will be provided
* Spanish translation will be available
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Looking Back on Our Second Year of Participatory Budgeting

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Melissa unveiled the 2012-2013 Participatory Budgeting (PB) vote results for the 8th Council District on Monday evening at a celebration featuring San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto. In response to the growing participation and excitement around the process in its second year, Melissa nearly doubled her initial commitment of $1 million to the process. This year, 1,770 District 8 residents voted in the process, as compared to just over 1,000 last year.

The $1.9 million in projects funded through PB for the Fiscal Year 2014 budget are:

  1. Security cameras for Douglass, East River, Johnson and Millbrook houses — 964 votes
  2. New Laptops for 9 Schools in District 8– 857 votes
  3. Technology Centers for Seniors and Youth — 706 votes
  4. Mobile cooking classroom for SMART  (Sisterhood Mobilized for AIDS/HIV Research and Treatment)   — 534 votes
  5. Solar powered Greenhouse — 533 votes
  6. Hoops by the River — upgrade Jefferson B-ball Courts — 501 votes

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“I could not be more thrilled with the level of participation or the results,” Melissa said. “The winning projects are a reflection of the community’s concerns about public health, safety, youth, seniors and public parks. I thank all of our incredible partners in this process including Community Voices Heard, the Participatory Budgeting Project and the budget delegates for their hard work throughout the process.”

The tireless dedication and commitment from the community volunteers, otherwise known as ‘budget delegates’, was truly inspiring. Delegates came together from all different social, cultural, and economic backgrounds to work as a team of urban planners, community organizers, and decision-makers. Together they analyzed hundreds of project ideas, and through a long and grueling process they narrowed them down to twenty-one project proposals to address a wide variety of community needs such as more access to technology in our public schools, senior-friendly spaces, safe public housing, quality recreational spaces, transportation improvements, community gardens and urban agriculture.

One story that stands out in this process was the engagement of formerly incarcerate youth of color who worked on the education committee and developed one of the winning project proposals for new computers and technology in local schools. Another is that of Susan Rodriguez who works with SMART (Sisterhood Mobilized for AIDS/ HIV Research and Treatment), who has been very concerned about public health and the lack of nutritious food options in her community.

“First of all, just meeting and speaking with the Mayor of San Juan and knowing that she wants to bring PB to her city was one of the highlights of the evening!” said Rodriguez.  “Of course, I was overjoyed when SMART’s Mobile Cooking Classroom won and I thank everyone who came out to vote! This has been an extraordinary process for me, meeting and working with other budget delegates, community organizers and residents, especially in Millbrook Houses/Mott Haven, and learning how to make our community and city the best it can be.”

Last year, which was the first year of PBNYC, Ray Figueroa proposed a solar-powered greenhouse to teach urban agriculture to court-involved youth in the South Bronx, but it did not receive enough votes to win. This year however, the greenhouse pulled through.

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“Participatory Budgeting re-enfranchises the dis-enfranchised,” said Figueroa. “It reaches out to the most marginalized residents in the most underserved sectors of our community and honors them as the experts of our community.  Participatory Budgeting respects their human dignity in this regard, and, by so doing, helps to galvanize their sense of ownership as community stakeholders and re-defines what it means to be civically engaged.”

DSC_0437The last winning project with 501 votes, was the Jefferson Park basketball courts which have not been renovated in decades. These courts are heavily used by the Hoops by the River basketball league, run by Will Kelly and his son, Will Kelly II. “It is wonderful that we were able to mobilize our youth and community residents to finally make these much needed safety upgrades to this court,” said Kelly. “This way we can run a quality league and expand our work to combat youth violence and promote health.”

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More information on all of this year’s projects is available here. 

The full voting tally is available here.